Tuesday, October 8, 2013

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 9/28/13) – CAIR's 19th annual banquet to be held tonight at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Va., is now sold out. No tickets will be sold at the door. Banquet ticket-holders are encouraged to arrive early to register (registration opens at 5:30 p.m., program begins at 7 p.m.). Pre-registration is required for babysitting. With the theme "Faith in Freedom," the evening banquet will feature South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool and Imam Siraj Wahhaj as keynote speakers.

CAIR-NY: Man Who Attacked Hijab-Wearing Woman Released with Just a Ticket(Village Voice)Rachel Gunnoe, a stay-at-home mom from New Jersey, was in a Times Square on Saturday, taking part in a demonstration against the military coup in Egypt, when she was accosted by a man who grabbed her protest sign, threw it in her face, and called her a "f**king terrorist.

Texas Tea PartyBacktracks on Muslim-BashingAccording to the news site San Angelo Live, Campbell said the city has "four Muslim families" and "I don't trust any of them." He denied saying, as the news site reported, "and that's four too many."

CA:Troubling Note Left at Islamic CenterA troubling note was found taped on the front door of the Islamic Center of Temecula Valley in Murrieta. It was discovered on Sunday during evening prayer. The note makes mention of the recent mall attack in Kenya and the suicide bombing at a church in Pakistan.

CAIR:American Muslims Condemn Attacks in Kenya and PakistanThe Council on American-Islamic Relations was quick to "strongly condemn" all three attacks, describing the Iraq violence as "barbarity" and the Nairobi strike as "cowardly," while also supporting American efforts to help victims and bring perpetrators to justice. In addition, CAIR condemned the attacks on churches in Pakistan: "No one with a shred of humanity would commit such despicable acts against innocent men, women and children."

CAIR'Sensitized' Co-Creator of 'Homeland' to Islamophobia (WSJ)A turning point was a plot in season four about a sleeper cell—the terrorist family living next door—that outraged Muslim advocacy groups. Such backlash made its way into the writer's room. "They sensitized us," Mr. Gordon admits of groups like the Council of American-Islamic Relations. The show took the extraordinary step during that season of running a kind of public-service announcement from Kiefer Sutherland, in which he told viewers that "the American Muslim community stands firmly beside their fellow Americans in denouncing and resisting all forms of terrorism."

Anti-Muslim Booth at Tenn. Festival Sparks OutrageAction News 5 began receiving calls about a booth covered with anti-Muslim displays. One caller was too afraid to go on camera, but stated she found the display inappropriate and offensive.

CAIR: Minn. Woman Ejected from Event for Being MuslimMuslim civil rights group to pursue legal options if laws violated

(MINNEAPOLIS, MN, 9/29/13) -- On Saturday, September 28, a Muslim woman reported to the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) that she was physically escorted out of the Chisholm Baptist Church for attending the Annual Hibbing Area Women's Retreat.

CAIR-MN says it will pursue legal options if any federal or state anti-discrimination laws were violated.

The 16th annual event, featuring anti-Muslim speaker Cynthia Khan, was publicized as a public event. An article in the Hibbing Daily Tribune stated that "all area women are invited."

The Muslim woman, who wears a headscarf (hijab), was initially welcomed to the event by organizers. She completed the registration, paid the entrance fee and was given a nametag. As she was entering the auditorium, Khan approached event volunteers and asked that they remove the Muslim woman.

When the Muslim woman explained that she was only there to listen and would not interrupt the speech or disrupt the event, Khan said she did not want a Muslim in the audience. Khan told her that videos and materials "offensive" to Muslims will be shown and distributed during her talk.

Despite her objections to the unfair treatment due to her religion, the Muslim woman was physically escorted outside by event volunteers.

"The retreat organizers engaged in discrimination when they denied a Muslim woman from participating in the event, while opening it up to the rest of the public," said CAIR-MN Executive Director Lori Saroya. "We ask all community leaders in the area to repudiate the unfair treatment."

Past hosts of the Annual Hibbing Area Women's Retreat have been Blessed Sacrament Church, Holy Trinity Lutheran, First Assembly of God, First Lutheran Church, Grace Lutheran, Hibbing Alliance, Wesley Methodist, Open Door, Our Savior's Church and St. Michael's Orthodox Church.

In March 2012, two Muslim students in Perham, Minnesota were forced to leave an event for questioning the speaker's anti-Islam bigotry. The speaker, Walid Shoebat, is a notorious Islamophobe who claims "Islam is the devil."

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.- END -

CAIR-CTWelcomes Recognition of Muslim Holidays on School CalendarCAIR-CT today welcomed a decision by the New London Board of Education to recognize the two major Muslim holidays, Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha, by including them on the school calendar along with all other major religious holidays.

CAIR-MN:Advocacy Group Claims Muslim Woman Ejected from EventCAIR-MN Executive Director Lori Saroya charged that retreat organizers engaged in discrimination when they prevented Elsweisy from participating in the event, while opening it up to the rest of the public.

D.C. - Monday, Oct. 7: Islam and the BluesHistorian Sylvaine Diouf discusses how the blues may have evolved from the techniques of the recitation of the Koran and the call to prayer in West Africa. 7 p.m., Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, Great Hall, 901 G St. NW. Free. 202-727-0321.

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/3/13) -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today released video of an "inspiring" keynote address by South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool at the group's 19th annual banquet on Saturday in Arlington, Va.

At CAIR's sold out event, almost 900 community members, activists, diplomats, and civil rights and interfaith leaders heard Ambassador Rasool salute CAIR's civil rights and civic empowerment efforts, and offer lessons learned from the anti-Apartheid movement.

In his address, Ambassador Rasool stated:

"If your objective is peace, you cannot worship violence as a methodology ... If your objective is justice for all, you cannot do [in]justice to any, not even your enemy. And certainly not fight for justice between black and white while you do injustice to women at home."

He also told the audience:

"Courage is what it takes to be peaceful in a violent world ... We claim courage as our garb, and we claim peace as our objective and our methodology."

"We thank Ambassador Rasool for his inspiring address and hope that what he said about lessons learned during the struggle against Apartheid will be taken to heart by Americans of all faiths and backgrounds," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. "I would like to thank all those who supported us at our annual banquet and offer particular thanks to the CAIR staff, board members and volunteers who made the event such a success."

Other highlights of CAIR's banquet included the "2013 Islamic Community Awards" featuring the Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. Sayyid Syeed, the American Muslim of the Year Award to Linda Sarsour, the Community Service Award to Tarif Shraim, the Excellence in Media Award to Tayyibah Taylor, the Community Organization of the Year Award to MakeSpace, and the Chapter of the Year Award to CAIR-Tampa.

CAIR's Rosa Parks Civil Liberties Scholarship and the Sharifa Alkhateeb Community Service Scholarship were presented to Yasmine Arrington and Aabid Mohiuddin respectively.

The banquet program included letters of support from 60 members of Congress.

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CAIR: 'Obama Declares November National Muslim Appreciation Month,' Bloggers Claim(Politifact)While we didn't hear back from the White House, we found no evidence of any such proclamation at the White House website. We also asked Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "I'm fairly certain they haven't. Otherwise, I would have heard about it," he said.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CAIR-NJ Asks Century Savings Bank to Review Hijab Ban

(SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ, 10/3/2013) -- The New Jersey chapter for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ) today called on Century Savings Bank to review its "inappropriate and discriminatory" policy that would treat customers wearing religious head coverings differently than other patrons.

Century Savings Bank has implemented a policy that requires all customers to remove "hats, hoods, headgear, and sunglasses" for security purposes.

A bank poster has an image of a woman wearing hijab, along with images of a woman in sunglasses, a man in a hard-hat, and a man in a cap.

"Having the specific image of a Muslim woman wearing hijab on the actual poster sends an inappropriate and discriminatory message," says CAIR New Jersey Civil Rights Director Khurrum Ali. "It says that hijab-wearing Muslim women are not welcome at the Bank."

Ali also noted that the Bank's policy would impact observant Sikh and Jewish men who wear turbans and yarmulkes respectively, and would logically be applied to Orthodox Jewish women who often wear wigs for religious reasons or Catholic nuns who wear habits.

CAIR New Jersey is calling on Century Savings Bank to review its new policy and to make adjustments as necessary to ensure Muslim women and individuals of all faiths are made to feel welcome as customers.

CAIR:Civil Liberties Groups Decry Guantanamo Stall (Politico)"After more than four months only two detainees have been transferred out of the 166 men who were held at Guantanamo on the day of your [May] speech," say the groups, which include the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Human Rights Watch and the U.S. branch of the Presbyterian Church.

Thomas JeffersonFought to Ensure the Rights of Muslims At a time when most Americans were uninformed, misinformed, or simply afraid of Islam, Thomas Jefferson imagined Muslims as future citizens of his new nation.

CAIR-Cleveland Joins Multi-Faith Effort to End Violence Against WomenLater today, CAIR-Cleveland will join with more than 50 religious institutions and community based organizations to host a multi-faith program and walk around Public Square in downtown Cleveland to raise awareness about rampant violence against women in the local community and society at large.

CAIR-SFBA:Abercrombie to Change "Look" Policy After Hijab RulingOn Monday, September 23, the San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA), the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center (LAS-ELC) and the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will hold a news conference in San Francisco to announce a settlement resolving a lawsuit against Abercrombie & Fitch for firing a Muslim employee who refused to remove her religious headscarf.

CAIR-MDto Seek Holiday Equality for Muslim StudentsOn September 23, CAIR-MD, in partnership with the Equality for Eid coalition, will hold a press conference to urge Montgomery County schools to allow students to miss school for Eid ul-Adha, a Muslim holiday.

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 9/22/13) -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned a terror attack on a mall in Nairobi, Kenya, in which dozens of people – including Americans – have been killed or injured. A number of people were taken as hostages by the attackers.

In a statement, CAIR said:

"We strongly condemn this cowardly attack by al-Shabab and offer condolences to the loved ones of those killed or injured. Our nation should offer whatever assistance we can to Kenyan authorities as they seek to free the hostages and bring to justice all those responsible for this heinous crime."

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CAIR-NY: Sikh Professor Beaten, Called 'Osama,' 'Terrorist'Muslim civil rights group urges New York leaders to speak out against hate crimes

(NEW YORK, N.Y., 9/22/13) -- The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today called on state political and religious leaders to speak out against bias-motivated crimes after a Sikh professor was attacked Saturday night in Manhattan while being called "Osama" and "terrorist" by his alleged assailants. That same day, a Muslim woman was allegedly assaulted in New York after being called a "terrorist."

[NOTE: Sikh men who wear beards and turbans as part of their faith are often targeted by bigots who mistake them for Muslims.]

Media outlets say Dr. Prabhjot Singh, who is an assistant professor at Columbia University, was knocked down and punched numerous times in the face by assailants shouting the anti-Muslim slurs.

"New York's religious and political leaders must speak out forcefully against the type of bigotry that leads to hate attacks on people of all faiths and backgrounds," said CAIR-NY Operations Coordinator Sadyia Khalique.

Earlier today, CAIR-NY reported an apparently bias-motivated assault on a New Jersey Muslim woman taking part in a pro-democracy rally in Times Square on Saturday.

The woman, who wears an Islamic headscarf (hijab), was called an "f**king terrorist" during the assault. The incident and the arrest of the alleged perpetrator were caught on video.

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CAIR: Man Hits Muslim Woman, Calls Her A "F**king Terrorist" (Village Voice)"Any American should be able to engage in peaceful protest without fear of assault or intimidation based on that person's religion, ethnicity or national origin," CAIR-NY's Operations Coordinator Sadyia Khalique said in a statement.

CAIR-FL:Al Jazeera Weathers Boycott as It Airs in U.S.Council on American-Islamic Relations Executive Director Hassan Shibly denounced Caton's moves as "hate mongering." "This country is great," Shibly said, "It's all about freedom of speech, and the more views presented out there, the better.

(SAN FRANCISCO, CA, September 23, 2013) - Earlier this morning, the San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA), the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center (LAS-ELC) and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced the settlement of a three and a half year lawsuit against teen clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch.

The settlement follows a recent ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers that the company had violated Federal and state civil rights laws by refusing to allow Hani Khan, of Foster City, to wear her religious headscarf at work, and rejecting its undue hardship and "free speech" defenses. Abercrombie has agreed to make numerous substantive policy and practice changes - including a modification to the "Look Policy" specifically acknowledging A&F's legal obligations to allow exceptions -- to settle the lawsuit which was otherwise scheduled to go to trial at the end of the month.

On Saturday, September 28, Linda Sarsour will be presented with CAIR’s first American Muslim of the Year award at our 19th annual banquet in Arlington, Va. Please join us in honoring her courage and positive community activism by registering right now to reserve your place at the banquet.

In past years, CAIR’s banquet has sold out. No tickets will be sold at the door, so register TODAY to reserve your place!

With the theme "Faith in Freedom," the evening banquet will also feature South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool and Imam Siraj Wahhaj as keynote speakers, with comedy by Preacher Moss.

Linda Sarsour

Linda Sarsour is the national advocacy director for the National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC) and serves as the director of the Arab American Association of New York, a social service agency serving the Arab community.

She has been at the forefront of the public debate on the NYPD’s blanket surveillance of the Muslim community and has been featured in local, national and international media.

Linda was named a “Champion of Change” by the White House and has been profiled by the Guardian, YahooNews!, NY1’s One on One with Budd Mishkin, and PBS.

She also serves on the boards of the New York Immigration Coalition, Network of Arab American Professionals-NY chapter and Muslim Democrats Club of New York.

Come and meet her at CAIR's dinner!

Tables: Banquet tables for a family, business, organization, or other group, can be reserved by calling 202-488-8787 or by emailing events@cair.com.

Transit BoardUnanimously Approves CAIR-FL Diversity AdCAIR-FL scored a big victory for tolerance, acceptance and the spirit of inclusivity last night at the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) Board of Directors meeting. Following the August 5th vote of 8-2 rejecting the CAIR-FL diversity ad, Commissioner Beckner, who, along with Chairwoman Fran Davin, voted to approve our ad, motioned to reconsider the ad in light of our appeal letter we submitted the board.

After a recent interview with a New York Post reporter, I wondered aloud to colleagues about how my remarks would be distorted, given the obvious Islamophobic slant of the questions asked. ("'Who Cares' If US Terrorists in Kenya Mall Siege,"NY Post, 9/24/13) Well, now I know.

My clear repudiation of all forms of terrorism and religious extremism was turned on its head to falsely imply that I do not care if Americans took part in the horrific terror attack on the shopping mall in Kenya. In fact, the article itself quotes me stating that "terrorism is terrorism" and should be condemned no matter the national origin of the perpetrators.

As I stated clearly - clearly that is to anyone without a pre-determined anti-Muslim agenda - "The American Muslim community has repeatedly and consistently condemned all acts of terrorism, in whatever form they take and wherever they occur."

Agenda-driven distortions by biased journalists are unworthy of any media outlet that wishes to be viewed as credible, especially when reporting on such an important subject.